Tanner Holden returning to Wright State after one season with Buckeyes
COLUMBUS — Former Ohio State guard Tanner Holden is returning to Wright State. Holden announced his transfer decision on Instagram Tuesday evening.
Holden spent the first three years of his career at Wright State before joining the Buckeyes ahead of the 2022-23 season. The Wheelersburg, Ohio, native went from starring for the Raiders to playing a significantly reduced role at Ohio State.
Holden averaged only 13.5 minutes and 3.6 points per game for the Buckeyes last season. His signature moment in a Buckeyes uniform was drilling a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Rutgers in the Big Ten opener, a game-winning field goal that technically shouldn’t have counted and wasn’t an indication of what was to come for Holden.
Although the 6-foot-6 guard shot 47.8% from the field, including 7-of-14 from deep, his defense held him back from seeing the floor more, resulting in a plummet in scoring production from his Wright State days.
Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann explained early last season that the transition to Big Ten competition would be a process for not only his contributing freshmen but also Holden. Except, while the Buckeyes freshmen saw their roles increase as the season wore on, Holden’s minutes dwindled down the stretch.
In fact, Holden was a “DNP” in eight games last season, and he played in just six games from Feb. 2 to March 11. Versatile wing Eugene Brown III often got the nod over Holden as Holtmann’s rotation shrunk in the season’s final months.
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Both Brown — now at Georgia Southern — and Holden hit the transfer portal this offseason. And now Holden is retracing his steps to Wright State.
Holden averaged a team and career-best 20.1 points per game for the Raiders in 2021-22, leading the program to the NCAA Tournament and a First Four victory over Bryant with 37 points and 11 rebounds.
Holden attempted 13.6 shots and 7.8 free throws per game that season.
Additionally, he averaged 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 2020-21 and 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
He’s expected to return to high-volume minutes and scoring in the Horizon League.
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